Andrew & Kate

Trustworthy, reliable, young retired (50s), professional couple.

About Andrew & Kate

We are a couple in our 50s who met in Hull having both lived in several places in the UK before. We emigrated from Hull to Queensland, Australia about 20 years ago. We are house owners with our beautiful house in Queensland which was rented out long term while we travelled. In Hull, Andy was a senior manager in Humberside Social Services and Ka...

We are a couple in our 50s who met in Hull having both lived in several places in the UK before. We emigrated from Hull to Queensland, Australia about 20 years ago. We are house owners with our beautiful house in Queensland which was rented out long term while we travelled. In Hull, Andy was a senior manager in Humberside Social Services and Kate worked at the University in research and academic support. In Australia, Andy ran a Youth Justice Service in Brisbane while Kate worked in Academic Administration at QUT and Records Manager at Griffith University. We gave up our professional careers to buy our own business - a successful backpackers hostel in Bowen, north Queensland. Interspersed within our employment history are numerous extensive travels in many parts of the world - travel being our first love.

We have recently travelled overland through China and Central Asia to Europe where we have spent the last three years with elderly relatives and exploring mainland Europe. We have rented out our home on several occasions before. We have also engaged house and pet sitters on four previous occasions for periods of between two to three months at a time.

We are 100% honest, reliable, diligent and thoughtful: we believe we can offer you a worry-free stay away from your home.

Why we want to house sit

We are now back in Airlie Beach & renovating our home & garden. However, we are considering relocating from Airlie to the Sunshine Coast and looking for house sitting positions so we can re-acquaint ourselves with the area..

Our experience

We are both educated to Masters level and have professional qualifications. Kate is particularly adept at organisational matters, whilst Andy has various DIY skills, having renovated two derelict houses in the UK and renovated other houses in Australia.

Although our lifestyle has not really lent itself to having pets, we were both brought up with pets and did have a very content cat for eight years ourselves. We are very fond of both cats and dogs.

We have 'house sat' on several previous occasions, twice for Andy's sister in Northern Australia (both for about a month), looking after her highset rainforest Queenslander (wooden pole-home), her boisterous Kelpie dog and also her son at one time. Three times for Kate's brother and wife: once for three weeks in their Sydney townhouse and twice for their house in north London. Also in Hull (for family members) and in Lancaster for friends.

During the last couple of years exploring Europe we used Airbnb many times and have a wonderful series of reviews from the hosts which we can send to you.

We also have four "trusted housesitters" references from this year (which you can access) - one from Spain & three from York. We are now living back in our house in Airlie Beach. We haven't lost the travelling bug and are also considering relocating to the Sunshine Coast so are open to house sitting opportunities all along the east coast of Australia.

Both of us have been Police checked in the past, this being required for Andy's employment in both the UK and Australia, and our application for Australian residency required us both to be Police checked.

Reviews (4)

Janet - York, United Kingdom

24 June - 01 July 2016

Andy and Kate are adventurers, traveling the globe, living in Australia, but grew up in the UK. They were keen to house sit in Yorkshire since they both have elderly relations and wanted to spend time with them. It was a perfect solution for both of us.

They are a very friendly couple, very down... + More

Andy and Kate are adventurers, traveling the globe, living in Australia, but grew up in the UK. They were keen to house sit in Yorkshire since they both have elderly relations and wanted to spend time with them. It was a perfect solution for both of us.

They are a very friendly couple, very down to earth, but take responsibility seriously. Kate, extremely organised, absorbed all the silly details of our 2 beloved dogs. They, both dogs and Housesitters, seemed to get on extremely well.

Whether in the UK, or around the world, I would definitely recommend Andy and Kate for your housesit.

Organised

Reliable

Self-sufficient

Tidy

Pet care

- Less

Linda - York, United Kingdom

13 June 2016

Kate and Andy looked after our home and cat Archie for a week in June.

They were wonderful house-sitters. Our cat is a rescue and can sometimes be quite nervous around new people. But when we got back from our holiday he was the most relaxed we've ever seen him! He seemed very content, well fe... + More

Kate and Andy looked after our home and cat Archie for a week in June.

They were wonderful house-sitters. Our cat is a rescue and can sometimes be quite nervous around new people. But when we got back from our holiday he was the most relaxed we've ever seen him! He seemed very content, well fed and looked after.

Andy and Kate went out of their way to help in any way they could, and regularly texted updates while we were away. The house was cleaner when we got back than when we left! With gorgeous fresh flowers, wine and fresh milk in the fridge to welcome us home. Kate had also washed some towels for us and stripped the bed, which was really helpful for when we got back.

We also have a fairly big garden and Andy even helped out with the grass cutting.

We can highly recommend Andy and Kate as house-sitters, they are lovely people and we hope to stay in touch with them in the future. We would definitely invite them to house-sit for us again.

Linda

Organised

Reliable

Self-sufficient

Tidy

Pet care

- Less

Laura - York, United Kingdom

17 April 2016

Andy and Kate were brilliant housesitters. They responded to all emails promptly and made arrangements to be at our home so we could meet them and give them a handover even though this meant setting off very early in the morning. They are very friendly, likeable and trustworthy. They got on well ... + More

Andy and Kate were brilliant housesitters. They responded to all emails promptly and made arrangements to be at our home so we could meet them and give them a handover even though this meant setting off very early in the morning. They are very friendly, likeable and trustworthy. They got on well with out two cats and 3 chickens who all seemed very happy on our return. They kept in touch during our holiday and the house was spotless when we returned.

Organised

Reliable

Self-sufficient

Tidy

Pet care

- Less

View all Reviews (4)

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View Reference (1)

About Andrew & Kate

We are a couple in our 50s who met in Hull having both lived in several places in the UK before. We emigrated from Hull to Queensland, Australia about 20 years ago. We are house owners with our beautiful house in Queensland which was rented out long term while we travelled. In Hull, Andy was a senior manager in Humberside Social Services and Kate worked at the University in research and academic support. In Australia, Andy ran a Youth Justice Service in Brisbane while Kate worked in Academic Administration at QUT and Records Manager at Griffith University. We gave up our professional careers to buy our own business - a successful backpackers hostel in Bowen, north Queensland. Interspersed within our employment history are numerous extensive travels in many parts of the world - travel being our first love.

We have recently travelled overland through China and Central Asia to Europe w......

We are a couple in our 50s who met in Hull having both lived in several places in the UK before. We emigrated from Hull to Queensland, Australia about 20 years ago. We are house owners with our beautiful house in Queensland which was rented out long term while we travelled. In Hull, Andy was a senior manager in Humberside Social Services and Kate worked at the University in research and academic support. In Australia, Andy ran a Youth Justice Service in Brisbane while Kate worked in Academic Administration at QUT and Records Manager at Griffith University. We gave up our professional careers to buy our own business - a successful backpackers hostel in Bowen, north Queensland. Interspersed within our employment history are numerous extensive travels in many parts of the world - travel being our first love.

We have recently travelled overland through China and Central Asia to Europe where we have spent the last three years with elderly relatives and exploring mainland Europe. We have rented out our home on several occasions before. We have also engaged house and pet sitters on four previous occasions for periods of between two to three months at a time.

We are 100% honest, reliable, diligent and thoughtful: we believe we can offer you a worry-free stay away from your home.

Why we want to house sit

We are now back in Airlie Beach & renovating our home & garden. However, we are considering relocating from Airlie to the Sunshine Coast and looking for house sitting positions so we can re-acquaint ourselves with the area..

Our experience

We are both educated to Masters level and have professional qualifications. Kate is particularly adept at organisational matters, whilst Andy has various DIY skills, having renovated two derelict houses in the UK and renovated other houses in Australia.

Although our lifestyle has not really lent itself to having pets, we were both brought up with pets and did have a very content cat for eight years ourselves. We are very fond of both cats and dogs.

We have 'house sat' on several previous occasions, twice for Andy's sister in Northern Australia (both for about a month), looking after her highset rainforest Queenslander (wooden pole-home), her boisterous Kelpie dog and also her son at one time. Three times for Kate's brother and wife: once for three weeks in their Sydney townhouse and twice for their house in north London. Also in Hull (for family members) and in Lancaster for friends.

During the last couple of years exploring Europe we used Airbnb many times and have a wonderful series of reviews from the hosts which we can send to you.

We also have four "trusted housesitters" references from this year (which you can access) - one from Spain & three from York. We are now living back in our house in Airlie Beach. We haven't lost the travelling bug and are also considering relocating to the Sunshine Coast so are open to house sitting opportunities all along the east coast of Australia.

Both of us have been Police checked in the past, this being required for Andy's employment in both the UK and Australia, and our application for Australian residency required us both to be Police checked.